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Double Bass the christopher bass club

#21
I've got a hybrid. Got it not long after Jon got his carved Chrissie. I've done a couple of hundred gigs with the thing. Am I jonesing for a beautiful new old bass, doing something like Unca Toad has done? Of course, what bass player isn't? But my Chrissie hybrid is a work-horse and I can't say much bad about her. OK, I can say that she's got a heavy industrial finish that's way too freaking shiny. I've listened (from an appropriate distance) to much better players than me play it, both arco and pizz, and there's not much to complain about...

I'm intimately familiar with a couple of real CCBs and the Chrissie definitely ain't in that minor league. It's a real bass that makes real bass sounds.
 
#27
sorry guys...here's my Chrissy 602T....

just picking it up today from Mark Sonksen....gonna try a set of Garbos on it...i loved the Animas but, at two years + (thanks Fingers), it was time to change them. we'll see how they do on the gig tonite.
 

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#28
I have had 4. Every one of them has been good. My current one is the best sounding ply I have played(out of Kays, German imports, etc). It sounds huge. Doesn't have the complexity of a carved bass, but it records great and does what I need it to do. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Christopher. Of course, there are a lot of very well made instruments coming from that part of the world now(Shen, Eastman, XueChang Sun, etc)
 
#29
Hi Chris Club,

My 14 year old daughter is currently playing a 1/2 Academy and I think I'm going to order her a 3/4 Pro Hybrid 300 series violin shape semi-gloss. Lisle Violin in Houston will order it for $3100 and we have a $1200+ rental credit to subtract from that.

Would you consider the 3/4 Chris basses small, average, or large for 3/4 db? What about the neck width? Ideally we are looking for a small 3/4 but I see the Chris as a nice interim option to get her into the 3/4 size while we leisurely keep an eye out for a longer term bass.

Thanks,

Mary Ann
 
#30
This Christopher 5-string was set-up by Aaron Reily at Guarneri House. It has a great, well-balanced sound, and the low B rattles anything that's not pinned down! It's strung with 4 Belcantos on top and a Helicore Orchestra low B. It feels great to play throughout the entire length of the neck. If you're one who thinks Christopher basses are in the "CCB" category, you should play this one! Everyone who has tried it seems to love the sound and the feel of it.
 

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#31
Mary Ann said:
Hi Chris Club,

My 14 year old daughter is currently playing a 1/2 Academy and I think I'm going to order her a 3/4 Pro Hybrid 300 series violin shape semi-gloss. Lisle Violin in Houston will order it for $3100 and we have a $1200+ rental credit to subtract from that.

Would you consider the 3/4 Chris basses small, average, or large for 3/4 db? What about the neck width? Ideally we are looking for a small 3/4 but I see the Chris as a nice interim option to get her into the 3/4 size while we leisurely keep an eye out for a longer term bass.

Thanks,

Mary Ann
Click to expand...

I owned a Christopher 304 Busetto for a while and it was a rather large 3/4 size. t was very well-built and had a great set-up! The neck width was ok for me (I'm a 6'1" guy), but it was very thick. I thought about getting it thinned, but I didn't want to diminish the beautiful sound. If I were you, I'd be sure to have her try the 3/4 size bass. Playing a bass which is too large for her could be a discouraging situation; we need to keep our young bassists in the game!

(I didn't realize this was a year old post, but decided the information might be valuable to somebody else)
 
#34
I've had Spiro mittels on my 303 for a couple of years now. The E and A are nice and fat; the D's OK; the G sucks a big one. Doesn't want ring for me at all. I had done a fair bit of string experimenting on it before hand and I've never managed to get a G that I'm really happy with, but nothing as crappoid as where I'm at now. On the high end it seems to like a light string...
 
#37
Damon Rondeau said:
I've had Spiro mittels on my 303 for a couple of years now. The E and A are nice and fat; the D's OK; the G sucks a big one. Doesn't want ring for me at all. I had done a fair bit of string experimenting on it before hand and I've never managed to get a G that I'm really happy with, but nothing as crappoid as where I'm at now. On the high end it seems to like a light string...
Click to expand...

Let's see some pics of your 303... Can you share the difference that strings make, and when certain types of strings are used??? I am a novice bassist and have been wondering if different strings would be advantageous to me at this stage...
 
#38
I'll post some pics when I can -- it looks like the other Chrissie 303's. Way too shiny! I'm going to try and rub out some of that shine one of these days. I should have put bumpers on it a long time ago, too -- I've given the edges a good chipping over the years playing it all over the place.

String wise, I've had several types of steel strings on it at different weights. Spirocore weichs and mittels, Superflexibles, Corelli 370s. It's always had a nice fat low-end (to me, anyway) pretty much no matter what. On the high end with steels, lighter seems better. I think the best that G has ever sounded was with the Corelli. I ran Evah Pirazzis for quite a while, too, when they first came out. They were very pleasant -- if a bit muted, somehow -- but I left them on the bass way past their "best before" date.

I'd like to have a really talented setup person have a go at it. I've heard a few players much better than me play her and it's always sounded lovely to me...
 
#39
pughJD said:
Did your Busetto bass arrive with all that damage? Do you still have the Christopher?
Click to expand...

Yes, I still have it. It is a lot of fun to play.

Being a lefty, it is difficult to find a DB without special ordering one. I had already owned an lefty Englehardt and wanted to buy a hybrid. My luthier receives notifications for Christophers (from the distributor's warehouse) that have some slight damage for a discount.

In my case, it was more than slight, but we took a chance and spent several months repairing it. My nickname for her is "Smash".

I am very happy with the results.
 
#40
ctcruiser said:
Yes, I still have it. It is a lot of fun to play.

Being a lefty, it is difficult to find a DB without special ordering one. I had already owned an lefty Englehardt and wanted to buy a hybrid. My luthier receives notifications for Christophers (from the distributor's warehouse) that have some slight damage for a discount.

In my case, it was more than slight, but we took a chance and spent several months repairing it. My nickname for her is "Smash".

I am very happy with the results.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're happy...it's a beautiful bass...
 

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